Odd Future
by Redhazard
Summary: A few seconds make a world of difference. Wounded but not dead yet, Bakugou Katsuki stumbles towards an odd future.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia.**

xXx  
Flesh Wounds  
xXx

It was late in the afternoon when the sun was close to setting down that Bakugou Katsuki came to visit Midoriya Izuku. The blond teenager plopped himself down and began talking.

"You fucking failure."

Most people wouldn't have opened with that, but let it never be said that Bakugou was one to care about manners or propriety. If anything, he was already showing great restraint by speaking his words instead of shouting them.

"Seriously, what the fuck were you thinking. There were like half a dozen pro-Heroes on the scene and more were on their way. What the fuck made you think you could make a difference there?"

Predictably, there was no answer. Deku was in no condition to talk.

"Let me make something clear, shitstain. I didn't need your fucking help. All Might was literally seconds away. I had already lasted half a fucking hour against that slimy piece of shit. I sure as hell could have lasted a couple more seconds without your sorry ass butting in."

The teen growled. He ran a hand through his hair and gripped it tightly. The urge to pull it was strong.

"Do you want to know why I hate your guts so much?" Bakugou asked. "It's shit like this. Every. Damn. Time. Always acting like you fucking matter or something. Have you even looked in a mirror? You're fucking Deku! You've never succeeded at anything in your whole miserable life! But nooo. Ignore all that shit. Try to stand up for others even though you're weak as balls. Apply to UA even though you have no fucking Quirk."

Someone without a Quirk trying to get into UA's Hero Course was ridiculous. It was so ridiculous it couldn't even be called a joke.

"I used to think you were looking down on us. Looking down on me. I've busted my ass to prepare for UA. Everyone who wants to get in has. It's the top hero school in the country. It doesn't give fucking handouts, but there you are wanting to take the entrance exam, acting like you've got a chance. Do you have any fucking idea how fucking deluded you came across? How disrespectful that is? How fucking arrogant?"

Bakugou snorted and looked away. "Of course, you fucking don't."

"But I think I get you now," he said after a while. "I had plenty of time to think about this shit while I was in the hospital. The truth is you never really thought you could get in, right? You never thought you were better at all. 'Won't know until you try,' my ass. You knew exactly what your odds were. You were just too fucking scared to accept you were worthless. That's your fucking deal, ain't it? That's why you kept going through the motions, writing on those stupid notebooks again and again, obsessed with what you couldn't be in a fucking million years! You knew. You couldn't not have known. You just wanted everyone else to crush your dream for you, 'cause you couldn't do it on your own!"

Bakugou sighed. At once, the tension seemed to drain away from his body. He let his body fall back to the grass behind him.

"If you knew that, then why the fuck did you try to save me?"

No one answered him. It was only to be expected.

"I ain't saying thanks, by the way," Bakugou added. "Let's face it, you sure as hell didn't save me. The doctors tell me I'll be lucky if I am ready for the entrance exam, but what the fuck do they know? I'll be back in top shape in a month."

A rare moment of silence followed as Bakugou found he had nothing else to say to Deku. He wasn't even angry anymore. Ever since that day, the whole thing was…

"What a fucking waste," Bakugou said as he moved to a sitting position. With great effort, he managed to stand up. He probably shouldn't have come to this place alone in his condition.

"This won't stop me," He said, gesturing to the stump that had been his right arm. "I am still going to be the Top Hero, and when that happens… when that happens, I'm making damn sure not a single stupid shithead like you gets killed because the heroes were stuck watching!"

With those parting words that were neither friendly nor warm, Bakugou slowly moved away from the grave of Midoriya Izuku.

xXx

 **AN: For anyone confused, the idea here is Deku dies in chapter 1. No resurrection. No respawning. Just the world going forward and people dealing with it. The first chapters are going to be a bit dark, but not overly so.**


	2. Chapter 1

.

xXx  
Chapter 1  
xXx

Anyone who had interacted with Bakugou Mitsuki for a significant length of time would truthfully be able to describe the woman as strong. It was from her that Bakugou Katsuki inhered his unflinching drive. When Mitsuki set out to do something, she put forth her best effort and dashed right in. In high school, her drive and strength had dragged her volleyball team all the way to the nationals. Later in life, Mitsuki had applied the same drive to her modeling career with very positive results.

Mitsuki did not feel strong right now.

She felt like she was made of glass. She felt weak, frail, and on the verge of breaking. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. How else could a loving mother feel after seeing her son's broken form? In a way, Mitsuki still had a hard time believing this was reality. This felt more like she was trapped in a nightmare. She had felt that way ever since receiving the phone call from the police. Even as the police explained to her and Masaru what had happened to their boy, she couldn't believe it. It was only more than twelve hours later when the doctors finally let her see her son that she was faced with the cold, bitter reality.

A part of her, the part that operated more on emotion than reason, felt guilty.

Mitsuki had always despaired over her child, but not in a normal way. Some parents worried about their kids' grades being too low. Mitsuki had the opposite problem. Katsuki was just too good at everything, impossible so. That staggering talent shaped his interactions with other people and not for the better. People tended to love prodigies, and it had not taken long for her son to be surrounded by people who only told him how great he was. In spite of her and Masaru's best efforts, Katsuki had ended up getting a big head over it.

That is why sometimes, some days Mitsuki would wish for something to humble him. She wished for her son to run into a wall, to face his limits, to find a problem he couldn't solve. In short, Mitsuki wished for something unfortunate to happen to him.

Not this, though. Never this.

Unreasonable as it may be, Mitsuki felt guilt for every time she had wished such a thing. It was fine if her son got a big head. It was fine if he grew up to be a jerk with poor social skills. Just please, _please…_

 _Let him live…_

A hand gently squeezing hers drew her out of her thoughts. She shot a grateful look at her husband, but Masaru did not notice. He probably hadn't even noticed he squeezed her hand, trying to draw comfort from her presence. Just like her, his focus was elsewhere. His eyes were glued to the doctor's lips.

They were outside Katsuki's hospital room. He wasn't ready to wake up yet. The doctor had told them that. In a way, Mitsuki was grateful for that. If she had to talk with him now, she would undoubtedly break.

"-ood transfusion was a success. We were fortunate Recovery Girl was able to get here as fast as she did," the doctor was saying. "Without her, the process would have taken much longer. However, I am glad to say your son's condition is now stable."

Stable.

Mitsuki fought the urge to snort. She knew the doctor did not mean anything bad by it. Doctors just loved to use that word. However, stable meant different things to different people. When a patient's family heard stable, they usually thought things were good, that their loved ones were getting better. That wasn't it, though. When doctors used that word, stable didn't necessarily mean that.

Stable just meant things were not getting worse.

Certainly, that was something to be grateful for. Her son's life was not in danger, and that was good. The hospital was going to get a generous donation in the near future, and this doctor was going to get a hell of a gift sent to his office. The same went for Recovery Girl.

However, the damage was already done.

"What will happen him, doctor? What… what will happen to my son?" Her voice almost broke in the middle, and this time the reassuring squeeze from her husband was done on purpose. It allowed her to power through to the end.

The doctor looked down. Mitsuki couldn't help but notice he was younger than her.

"A full recovery is impossible," the doctor said. Mitsuki felt a stab of pain in her heart even though he was merely stating the obvious. "His left arm and leg are gone. No amount of surgery is going to change that. Even Recovery Girl's Quirk is not that strong. There have been some studies done on the nature of Regenerative Quirks, but those have been far from conclusive. It will probably be decades before any significant progress is made in that area, and decades more before a protocol can be worked out."

The doctor looked down again, probably realizing he was getting close to rambling. "Your son will need prostheses. The hospital can recommend a few providers. You should also check with your insurance company to see what options are available to you. Your son is still growing so he will most likely go through more than one pair. You should also consider the use he is planning to give them when choosing."

"Hero," Bakugou Masaru spoke up. His voice was raspy as if he had just walked through the desert. "My son wants to be a hero."

Not wanted.

Wants.

Mitsuki had never wanted to kiss her husband so badly.

That would have to come later, though. For the moment, she settled for grabbing hold of his arm and leaning into him. His arm automatically wrapped around her waist.

"I see." The doctor suddenly looked awkward. "That is… that is certainly feasible. Prosthetic limbs have made great strides in recent years. Your son may even be able to regain almost full range of motion. I hear Hero schools like UA and Shiketsu provide special aid for students with disabilities. UA's Support Division, in particular, has impressive resources available to them. Naturally, your son will also need to go through physical therapy and-"

As the doctor kept talking and she tried her best to listen, Mitsuki told herself it was going to be okay.

It had to be.

xXx

Bakugou Katsuki stared at the ceiling.

Contrary to what the doctors thought, he had woken up some time ago. It had been just in time to hear the doctor list his many injuries to his parents, not that he needed such a thing to know. His condition was obvious. His body was covered in bandages, and Bakugou was pretty sure the only reason why he wasn't in pain was that he was full of painkillers. There was an IV connected to his arm.

His one remaining arm.

With great effort, Bakugou cast his gaze to the left and saw the empty spot where his arm used to be. Everything below the elbow was gone. There was also a sense of emptiness that came from the place his left leg used to be.

Bakguou's face twisted with bitterness. Memories of what happened rushed through his mind with such intensity it almost hurt.

Damn it!

His pulse spiked. His hand clenched into a fist.

Fucking damn it!

It really happened, didn't it?

Something burned in his eyes. Bakugou immediately clenched them shut. He refused to cry. He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't!

Just how had things gotten so fucked up so fast? Try as he might, the young man could hardly understand how things had ended this way. He had just been hanging out with some classmates. That was all.

That was when the Villain had attacked.

As far as Quirks went, that sludge-like body had been pretty damn disgusting. Still, Bakugou had to admit it was one potent Quirk. The Villain had snuck behind him and hadn't let go. No matter how much Bakugou struggled, no matter how many times he exploded, the Villain kept his hold on him. The disgusting sludge only clung tighter to him, trying to get even closer to him, trying to get _inside him_.

It had hurt.

It had hurt so fucking much.

Bakugou kept waiting for the heroes to come, but they hadn't. Just what the fuck were they waiting for? He had seen them! They were right there! Why… why hadn't they saved him? Why hadn't they done anything? Instead, the one who had tried to do something… the only one who had come had been…

Fucking Deku.

The little shit had rushed in trying to save him like the Hero he wasn't. Unfortunately for him, he was up against a real Villain, one who hadn't hesitated to do the proper villainous thing.

Deku had died.

And Bakugou… had exploded.

He had exploded harder than he ever had before. Bakugou hadn't even been able to hear his own screams over the explosion. There had been so much noise, so much pain, so much light.

Ah.

Something clicked in Bakugou's mind. That was it. That was how it happened.

He had blown his own limbs off.

Bakugou snorted. He couldn't help it. It was just so damn ridiculous. He was missing an arm and a leg, and it wasn't even the Villain who had done it. He had used his powers beyond what his body could handle, and this was the result. It was one hell of a bad joke.

A chuckle escaped Bakugou's mouth. Soon enough, he was laughing. What else was there to do?

Bakugou laughed in the darkness of the hospital room as bitter tears fell down his cheeks.

xXx

 **AN** : Chronologically, this takes place a few months before the prologue. We are taking the long way to UA.

Also, yes, Bakugou's parents are named Mitsuki and Masaru.


	3. Chapter 2

.

xXx  
Chapter 2  
xXx

"Drink."

Nishiya Shinji, better known as Kamui Woods, stared at the drink that had been placed in front of him. He was in a bar of some kind. Kamui Woods felt confident in that conclusion even if he wasn't exactly sure how he had gotten there in the first place.

"Drink," Death Arms repeated, pushing the alcoholic drink closer to him. He was the one who had dragged Kamui Woods to that place. While Kamui Woods' glass was full, there was already an empty glass beside Death Arms.

"I am not much of a drinker."

Kamui Woods tried his hardest to eat healthy. He avoided processed foods like the plague, preferring to cook his own meals with fresh, hand-picked ingredients instead. He wasn't a big fan of alcohol.

"I know. That's why I didn't bring you here before." The large, muscular man sighed and ordered another drink. "However, you definitely need a drink right now. Hell, you didn't even protest when I pulled you away from that mess, not that I can blame you. Today was terrible."

The words were like a bucket of cold water.

Kamui Woods shut his eyes. The rookie Hero placed his elbows on the table and held his head between his hands. Just a few words were enough to bring it all back.

That disaster.

That failure.

"Has this… has this happened to you before?" Kamui Woods asked.

Although they did not work for the same office, Kamui Woods had formed a good working relationship with the older Hero. His down-to-earth personality made Death Arms more approachable compared to the more flamboyant pros out there, and as someone with years of experience, Death Arms was a fountain of good advice.

"Not like this," Death Arms said in a somber tone. It was the first time Kamui Woods had ever heard that tone coming from him. "Japan has well over a thousand active Heroes. Then there is All Might who is worth a thousand Heroes all on his own. I am not going to tell you things are perfect, but Japan is pretty damn peaceful compared to other countries."

Kamui Woods nodded. He already knew all those things but hearing them now only served to highlight today's failure.

"However, shit still happens. Sometimes a Villain gets lucky. Sometimes a Hero gets careless. Either way, people get hurt. We ain't perfect. Well, except All Might. Today though… Today was a fucking disaster."

"I could have stopped it," Kamui Woods said, staring at his drink. "I was worried about being hurt by the hostage's Quirk, but if I had just endured… If I had done it fast enough, I could have saved him."

Of that, Kamui Woods was certain. If only he hadn't been stuck on the mentality of 'Someone with a more suitable Quirk will get here eventually,' he could have saved that boy. If he had done so, then the other boy wouldn't have rushed in, trying to do what he was so woefully unsuited for. If only Kamui Woods had acted as the Hero he was, no one would have gotten hurt.

No one would have died.

"Don't go there," Death Arm warned, bringing a glass to his lips. "I am serious. That place is no one's friend."

"I'm not wrong!"

"No, you are not," Death Arms said to the surprise of Kamui Woods. "We all share some responsibility for what happened. Hell, my whole thing is being tough and strong, and I didn't go in. I don't even have the excuse of being weak against fire. I just thought I wouldn't do well against the Villain's Quirk."

"You were just waiting for someone with a Quirk more suitable to the situation." Even as he said those words, Kamui Woods realized how empty they were. Death Arms snorted.

"Same as you. Didn't work out. Maybe if All Might had gotten there a few seconds earlier, we'd be celebrating right now. He didn't. It's not his fault either. Like I said, shit happens. In the end, we made the wrong call." Death Arms sighed and slammed his once again empty glass on the table. He motioned the bartender for another one.

"The little guy passed right by me, you know? I was so shocked someone would do something like that I couldn't stop him in time. Some Hero, huh?"

"However," Death Arms added before Kamui Woods could say anything, "We can't waste time torturing ourselves. Heroes don't get that luxury. That shit won't save anyone, least of all yourself. Acknowledge the mistake and make damn sure it doesn't happen again. That's all you can do right now. That's all we can do. The rest you have to let go of."

"I'm not sure I can do that," Kamui Woods admitted. He tapped his chest. "I feel it here. I feel like I am still watching it happen."

"And that's what the alcohol is for." Death Arms tapped Kamui Woods' still untouched glass. "Drink. Forget. It's not healthy, and you shouldn't make a habit out of it, but we both need it right now."

"I… I've never gotten drunk before."

"Want to hear something funny?" Death Arms asked. Without even waiting for his answer, he went on. "I talked with some of the cops before pulling you out. The way they see it, that last explosion should have hurt a lot of people, yet the two students were the only civilians who really got hurt. They think it was because that sludge Villain was doing his best to smother the explosive kid's body. He ended up taking the brunt of the explosion as a result. Ain't it funny? The Villain ended up saving more lives than us."

Kamui Woods blinked very slowly at that. He took hold of his drink and, after a few seconds of hesitation, downed the whole thing in one go. Immediately after, he started coughing as a burning sensation filled his throat.

"There you go," Death Arms said, patting his back. "Give him another one," he said to the bartender.

"T-this is foul," Kamui Woods said between coughs. "I thought it was supposed to be beer!"

"Beer is too wimpy to help right now," Death Arms said as if it was obvious. For him, it probably was. "This is better."

"I hate you," the younger Hero said. Nevertheless, he still brought the next glass to his lips.

"You'll thank me for it when you miss most of what happens tomorrow."

"What happens tomorrow?"

"The media. That's what happens."

xXx

"Fuck!"

Takeyama Yu lied face down on her bed. Her Mt. Lady costume lay discarded on the floor a few feet away.

When she was young, Yu had dreamed of being a Hero. She may not have gone to a prestigious school like UA or Shiketsu, but she had done her best with the options available to her. It helped that her Quirk was a powerful one. It may not be suitable for delicate stuff, but the ability to grow giant-sized gave her more raw power than most pros. Thanks to that power and her academic efforts, Yu had graduated with excellent grades and gotten her Hero License on the first try.

Yu had even gone a step beyond and made sure to get a college education, something many heroes didn't bother with, preferring to start working right after high school. She got a management degree, reasoning that she was going to need to learn how to manage her office when she went independent. Yu learned everything there was to know about the business side of heroism.

She had everything planned, everything ready for her debut.

At first, everything looked like it was going well. Mt. Lady's first appearance was a success. She defeated the Villain and stole the spotlight from her business rivals. She couldn't have asked for anything better. She was going to make it big. Just like she had always dreamed of.

Then the accident happened.

One kid dead. The other critically wounded. For all she knew, he might not make it past the night.

She hadn't been able to do a thing to help.

Her giant form needed two lanes or more to do anything at all. Impressive as her Quirk was, it was also an all-or-nothing type of power. Either she grew to full size, or she didn't. It had been that way since she was young. While her Quirk had been the source of many of her successes, she was now forced to face its shortcomings.

It wasn't like she hadn't known. Yu had been aware of her Quirk's weakness. She knew it better than anyone. At a glance, a large metropolitan area like Tokyo seemed like a right fit for her Quirk. However, Tokyo was very densely populated. Most of the time, there was nowhere near enough room for someone her size to maneuver freely. It meant she needed to extra careful when acting as a Hero. It also meant a random purse snatcher could escape her by ducking into a narrow alley.

Yet she had chosen to work in Toyko.

Why? Because Yu wanted to make it big. You didn't become a big shot Hero by working out in the boonies. You needed to be in the city where the big things happen. That had been her reasoning. Some collateral damage was fine. Not being able to go into one lane roads was fine. That was what she had foolishly told herself.

Yu screamed into her pillow and banged her fist against the mattress.

This. Was. Not. Fine!

As a Hero, Takeyama Yu had utterly failed. She had failed to save anyone. Her name would be forever tied to the biggest disaster in Tokyo since the All Might-era began.

Some first day this was.

Part of her couldn't help but envy All Might. His only crime was arriving a couple of seconds too late.

No one would blame him for what happened.

xXx

He was All Might.

He was the Symbol of Peace. He was the Eighth wielder of One for All. He was Japan's Number 1 Hero. Undaunted and undefeated. He was the one who brought down All for One and ushered a new era of peace in Japan.

He was Yagi Toshinori, a man who was only now realizing how pathetic he had become in the past five years.

It wasn't the first time he failed. Not being able to save his Master. Not being able to capture All for One. Those and many other things still weighed heavily on him.

However, never before had he willfully reduced himself to a mere bystander.

The sound of his fingers hitting the numbers on his phone was heard clearly in the emptiness of his home. He brought the phone to his ear and waited until the other side picked up.

"Nighteye… It is me. You were right. I can no longer do this... I am not qualified to be the Symbol of Peace anymore."

xXx

 **AN: No, Bakugou this time, and maybe not next chapter either, but he'll be back soon enough. There is a lot to unpack there, and we're still only focusing on the immediate consequences of Deku's death.**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: When I first started planning this story, I wanted to make it accessible to anime-only viewers. As I kept going, it became clear that was not going to happen. If you're an anime-only reader, beware of spoilers.**

xXx

Odd Future 3

xXx

Kamui Woods woke up with a killer headache.

The TV was on and the volume unreasonably loud. The Hero groaned while slowly trying to sit up. His brain felt like it was bouncing all over the inside of his skull. He opened his eyes only to immediately shut them. The light was too bright. Why was the light so bright?

And what was that awful stench?

Kamui Woods blinked hard and put a hand in front of his face. He breathed on it and winced. He was the stench. He knew drinking so much was a bad idea.

Never again, he swore.

Never again.

"Well, look who finally woke up."

Kamui Woods looked to the side and found Death Arms. The older Hero was sitting on a comfortable-looking couch. There was a 50-inch screen TV in front of him. Kamui Woods blinked again. He didn't have anything like that in his house. As Kamui Woods looked at his surroundings, he slowly came to realize that he wasn't in his home. This was probably Death Arms' house. The couch he had been sleeping on was covered with plastic, likely Death Arms' doing to stop him from ruining his furniture with vomit.

"What are you even watching at this hour?" Kamui Woods asked. He closed his eyes again. Too bright. It was still too bright.

"This hour?" Death Arms echoed before snorting. "Adorable. I am watching the news. Like I said, the media is having a field day."

Kamui Woods frowned. "I thought you said we wanted to avoid watching this?"

"And you foolishly believed me. Now, sit down and watch. This is also part of being a Hero."

Deciding to listen, Kamui Woods slowly moved to a spot in front of the TV. The Hero's slumbering, clumsy movements contained not a hint of his usual grace. If Death Arms were a messier person, Kamui Woods would have tripped several times over.

"What are we watching?"

"Right now, Channel 5," Death Arms replied, nodding at the screen. "They are always the ones most likely to say the stuff that hurts."

"Isn't it obvious what they are going to say?" Kamui Woods let his head fall between his hands. "We didn't do our job, and people got hurt. What else is there?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised. OWK and YDA were quick to attack us. However, QGJ tried to cut us some slack. This all happened early in the morning obviously. That's when things started to get interesting."

"Interesting?"

Death Arms pointed to the screen. "Listen," he said, turning up the volume.

 _"-ragic. I think it is important to understand the circumstances that caused this tragedy. Can the blame truly be placed on the Heroes alone when there were many police officers on the scene and dozens of bystanders? Did not one of these people possess a Quirk that could have helped in that situation?"_

 _"So you are saying people should have used their Quirks to help out?"_

 _"Absolutely. Placing the burden of Quirks on such a small portion of the population has effectively created a bystander culture in our country. What good is being born with these gifts if no one is willing to use them to help those in need? Instead of encouraging the exploration and discovery of our very Individuality, we lock it all up behind regulations and red tape. According to statistics, about 20% of-"_

Kamui Woods slowly turned to Death Arms, tearing his gaze away from the plain-faced man with all too sharp eyes. "Is he saying what I think he is saying?"

"That this happened because the laws regarding the use of Quirks are too strict? Yep." Death Arms nodded. "That's Yamaguchi Shiro. He's a member of the Quirk Liberation Party."

The Quirk Liberation Party. Kamui Woods had heard of them. Officially, they had no relation to the now-defunct Quirk Liberation Army that had been headed by the Villain Destro. However, many members had been known to quote Destro and generally agreed with his philosophies. The QLP always pushed for less regulation on the use of Quirks, believing that the freedom to use one's Quirk was an inviolable right.

"They released an official statement on the issue about an hour ago," Death Arms explained. "If civilians and police were allowed greater freedom to use their Quirks, this would not have happened. That's more or less the gist of it."

"I can't believe anyone would use a tragedy like this." Kamui Woods shook his head then stopped when the motion caused him pain.

"That's because you're still young. Trust me, it gets better." Death Arms smiled, but there was no mirth in it.

"There is more?" Kamui Woods didn't want to believe it.

"Well, the Transparency and Fairness Party is using the opportunity to push for Quirk Registration again. They say that if the government kept a better registry of Quirks, it would be easier to organize quick-response teams for this kind of situations."

Kamui Woods winced. "I take it that didn't go over well?"

"Just about everyone has given a statement on that, mostly negative. I can see where the TFP is coming from, but Registration has always been a touchy subject."

Registration. In this case, the capital letter was wholly merited. Although over 80% of the population possessed Quirks, the Japanese government had not taken any meaningful steps to keep tabs on those Quirks. Even a person's ID will not say whether they had a Quirk or not.

Schools kept a record of the Quirks possessed by their students. Quirk Counseling and Quirk Assessment were natural parts of the curriculum in both elementary and middle schools. However, those records never went anywhere. They stayed in the school gathering dust until they were put in the trash or shredded. The only individuals whose Quirks were fully registered with the government were Heroes.

There were many arguments made in favor of Quirk Registration. If people's Quirks were registered with the government from the moment they manifested, society would be easier to manage. Those with naturally strong Quirks could be encouraged to become Heroes from a young age. Those with naturally dangerous Quirks could be given extra care during Quirk Counseling. Those with rare and beneficial Quirks such as healing Quirks could be guided towards the path that best used their abilities. It would also be easier to hunt down Villains since all Quirks would already be registered and so on.

However, Japan was naturally leery of Registration. There was too much room for potential abuse.

"Has it even been a day since all this began?" Kamui Woods had expected to be lambasted by the media, not… whatever this was. "Is anyone even talking about the two children?"

"I am glad you asked that."

"I am suddenly not."

"It is not all bad," Death Arms reassured him while at the same time confirming that some of it was bad. "There is a lot of sympathy and well-wishing going around, especially online."

Death Arms pointed to his side. It was only then that Kamui Woods noticed that the larger man had an open laptop next to him. "Last I checked, both had gained over ten thousand followers on their social media accounts, and the number was still going up. Lots of positive comments, but there has been a weird trend popping up."

Kamui Woods could feel nausea coming up. He took a deep breath.

"What type of trend?"

"Lately, there are more and more comments online that blame the middle-schooler who jumped in. They say it's his fault things ended up that way."

"That's-"

"Incredibly shitty? I know. Still, that's what's happening. It started with a few comments. Now, it has spread. There are a bunch of memes and fake accounts, the works. It has the fingerprints of the PR office all over it."

Kamui Woods stared. The nausea was getting worse. "What?"

Death Arms sighed.

"If you ever get the chance to work with Best Jeanist, you can ask him about it. The guy does a lot of public relations stuff. Because of that, no other Hero works as closely with the PR office of the Hero Association as he does. He knows how they work. They're in charge of making us look good, and they do, everything else be damned."

"B-but he was a kid! They can't just… He's dead, damn it! That's-" Kamui Woods quickly covered his mouth.

"Bathroom is the second door to the right." Death Arms pointed to the hallway. Kamui Woods nodded and dashed for the bathroom, arriving just in time to empty his stomach.

When Kamui Woods returned, Death Arms was waiting for him with a large glass full of a green-ish steaming liquid. Kamui Woods eyed the concoction warily. "What's that?"

"Family remedy. It will help with the headache and everything else."

"Why didn't you give that to me sooner?" Kamui Woods glared while keeping his distance from the glass.

Death Arms shrugged. "You would have puked regardless. This stuff is foul."

Kamui Woods eyed the glass for a full minute before taking it out of Death Arms' hand. He smelled it, then quickly drew back.

"Drink it quick. It's the only way. Trust me on that."

Kamui Woods stared at the drink for a while longer before doing as instructed. The drink tasted foul and made him want to gag but, oddly enough, did make him feel better after drinking it.

"So, what happens now?" Kamui Woods asked after taking a seat. "Where does it all lead?"

"It depends." To Kamui Wood's surprise, Death Arms just reclined on his couch, both his feet on the small table in front of him. "It all seems like a big deal now, but in the grand scheme of things it's just one tragedy, and yes," He added when he saw Kamui Woods about to protest. "I know that's a shitty thing to say, but the public doesn't have a good long-term memory. New days will come. There will be new things to pay attention to. Maybe not in days, but in weeks and months this whole thing will mostly fade away from the public's mind."

"B-But you made listening to this sound so important!" Kamui Woods protested. "Why even pay attention if this is not going to matter?"

"Two reasons." Death Arms held up two fingers. "First, because you do need to know this stuff. That way, you won't get duped into making a controversial statement by a reporter. We're Heroes. Our job is saving people, not doing politics. We need to know enough not to fuck up. This is the one thing they don't teach you at school that they really should."

Kamui Woods thought it over and nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. What's the other reason?"

"The other reason is that this could still matter. Like I said, it depends. An isolated incident is one thing, but if things like this keep happening, if shit like this gains traction, gains continuity, then that's trouble. Let me put it this way, what would happen if every dangerous criminal still out there decided to go out and kill the first person they saw right now."

"We'd stop them, of course!" The reply came out of his mouth automatically, and even as it did, Kamui Woods realized how unfeasible that was.

"Would we? Really?" Death Arms challenged. Kamui Woods looked away. "Don't kid yourself. What keeps the peace is not our ability to stop every crime, but rather the belief that we will beat every Villain out there. That's what keeps them from acting out. No matter what happens, the Heroes will win. No matter what happens-"

"All Might will save the day," Kamui Woods finished for him. Death Arms nodded.

"That!" Death Arms pointed at Kamui Woods. "It's exactly that. Those words you just said are the backbone of our society. We don't call him the Symbol of Peace for nothing. It's a very literal thing. As long as that belief goes unchallenged, we all get to live mostly peaceful lives."

"However, if the Villains decide that now is the time to challenge that belief..." Kamui Woods trailed off. He didn't want to think about it.

"Exactly! Right now, like it or not, the ball is in the Villains' court."

xXx

In a small apartment, a gentleman thief and the person who loved him most decided to cancel their next job. Gentlemen thieves were creatures of class and sensibility. Doing anything now would be crass and disrespectful.

There would be no wrongdoing for them today. They would go out, buy the finest tea they could, and take joy in each other's company.

xXx

In the depths of the underworld, a man ordered one of his underlings to buy ice cream for his newly adopted daughter. He looked at the news and pondered what to do.

xXx

In a nameless bar, a lost child argued with a shadow that had all the patience in the world. On the other side of a screen, a teacher watched the proceedings with a smile on his face. He already knew how this would end.

In the end, the answer was…

xXx

"Nothing will happen."

"You seem oddly certain of that."

Nighteye's office was usually full of people. They were always either working or laughing or laughing hysterically as part of their work. Today, it was mostly silent. Nighteye had given everyone the day off. The only people there were him and his visitor. For the first time in years, they were in the same room, only a table with two steaming cups of coffee between them.

Nighteye's visitor was an unfortunate-looking man. His cheeks were sunken, almost hollow. His body was thin and fail, so bony one might fear hurting him by holding him too tightly. His slouched posture and too big clothes belied just how tall the man was.

This was All Might. This was Toshinori Yagi. This pitiful form was what was left after a life of utmost sacrifice. Only a few were allowed to know about it.

The man sitting in front of All Might was one of those few. He was a tall man with neatly-combed yellow-streaked green hair. Unlike most heroes, he wore regular clothes, an elegant white suit that did a good job hiding all the lean muscle underneath. Only his red tie with polka dots broke the seriousness of the outfit.

He was Nighteye.

All Might's one and only sidekick.

"I am 99% certain." Nighteye adjusted his glasses and pointed to a screen. It was muted, but that didn't matter. "That is Tanaka Yamaguchi, Channel 5's star anchorman. If any significant event were to happen, he would inevitably end up talking about it. I made sure to check him last night. I will need to check a couple more times in the following months to be sure, but for now, there are no major tragedies in the horizon."

"I see." All Might nodded. "That is certainly a good use of your Quirk."

Out of all the Quirks in the world, Nighteye's was one of the rarest. It was one of the best-kept secrets of the Hero world, and it had been instrumental in bringing down All for One.

Nighteye's Quirk allowed him to see the future.

However, Nighteye's Quirk was not perfect. It only allowed Nighteye to see one person's future and only for one hour. Furthermore, his Quirk could only be activated once every 24 hours.

"Still, won't he find it odd if you start finding reasons to visit him?"

As a final requirement, Nighteye needed both physical and eye-contact with the person whose future he wanted to see in order to activate his Quirk.

"There is no need to worry." Nighteye brought his cup of coffee to his lips. "We happen to frequent the same convenience store. Being asked for interviews all the time does get annoying, but the benefits are worth it."

All Might smiled.

The Hero Association ranked Heroes using a number of metrics, but the two most important ones were public approval and criminal capture rate. Although Endeavor was the Hero with the highest number of arrests and cases solved, he was ranked #2 due to the staggering love the public held for All Might.

However, if the Hero Association started taking into account the number of crimes and accidents _prevented_ , there was no doubt in All Might's mind that the man in front of him would have taken his spot already. No other Hero worked as closely with the police to prevent crimes as Nighteye.

All Might couldn't be prouder of him.

"You were always clever. It warms my heart to see you are doing well."

A tinge of pink appeared on Nighteye's cheeks.

"I am also happy to know we do not have to worry about immediate repercussions." All Might sighed and looked at his still full cup. "However, that is not why I reached out to you."

The pink faded from Nighteye's cheeks. "All Might, I…"

"You were right," All Might said. There was no smile on his face. "You were right all those years ago. I am no longer someone capable of being a Hero. I am not worthy of-"

"Don't say it!" Nighteye's fist banged loudly against the table. Coffee spilled all over the place.

"But I-"

"Don't say it!" Nighteye repeated. "Whether you are right or wrong, I don't want to hear you say something like that!"

"I am sorry," All Might said after a moment of silence. "I always seem to bring you trouble."

"As I remember it, I was the one who sought you out in the first place." Nighteye closed his eyes and adjusted his glasses. "A sidekick is at the Hero's side to give him a kick when he needs it. I do not regret being your sidekick. I never will."

Somehow, an even more uncomfortable silence followed.

"Anyway." Nighteye coughed into his fist a couple of times. "Regarding the matter you called me about, I already have a candidate."

Nighteye took a folder out and passed it to All Might, making sure to avoid the spilled coffee.

"Togata Mirio. He is a second-year at UA. I know you were planning on working there to look for a candidate, but in my opinion, there is no need for it. Mirio is the perfect successor."

Seeing that All Might was reading Mirio's file, Nighteye continued. "He is still in need of training, but once I have finished with him, there will be no one better to handle One for All." Nighteye's face softened as he thought of his young protege. "He is someone who will save people with a smile on his face."

All Might looked up. "You trust him that much?"

"Yes," Nighteye replied without hesitation. "Even without One for All, I am certain he will become a splendid Hero. With it, he can become the pillar society needs."

All Might looked at the picture of a smiling boy included with the files. "I will have to meet him before I make my choice."

"I understand completely. You will have plenty of time to interact with him while teaching at UA. I can even arrange a meeting with him sooner if you wish it. However, there is something else we need to discuss before that."

All Might raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Nighteye straightened in his seat. His left hand clenched into a fist under the table. "Ever since we parted ways, I have… experimented with my Quirk."

"Nighteye…" All Might's gaze softened. "I truly did place a burden on you."

"Let me finish!" Nighteye snapped. "At first, I was afraid of seeing the future again. I will admit that much. I didn't want to see that horrible sight again."

That horrible sight. The reason why the two had parted ways.

All Might's death.

The day Nighteye saw that vision, he had pleaded and begged All Might to retire. All for One was defeated. His organization was in shambles. All Might was free to rest and let the next generation take over.

All Might had refused.

All for One was still out there. The Symbol of Peace was still needed. Even without his stomach. Even with only one lung, All Might would continue to save everyone with a smile.

Unable to bear that sight, Nighteye had fled.

"As you know, the future I see is not a certainty," Nighteye admitted. "It is just the most probable future."

If a person had orange juice and apple juice in his fridge but liked orange juice better, the probability of him drinking the orange juice first was higher. That was the sort of principle Nighteye's Quirk worked on. Naturally, as more probabilities were introduced, the future became less and less clear.

For example, Nighteye could not predict the results of the lottery. There were too many random variables involved.

"The near future has always been easy to see with accuracy. It is when minutes and hours become weeks and months that things become murky. Events tend to lose clarity. As more and more variables are introduced, it becomes harder to see the outcome."

"I am aware of that," All Might said, finally taking a drink from his coffee. "When we worked together, we used your short-term visions to stop crimes as they were happening. That was the most reliable way to do so. If we tried to change things too early, we risked the information you gained through your visions becoming useless."

If someone knew a building was going to blow up, it would be natural to inform the authorities. They would increase the security to prevent the crime but doing so may scare the bomber away. It may cause the bomber to choose another building entirely, leading to a different tragedy. That was why the best way to use Nighteye's Quirk had been to let his visions play out to a safe enough degree.

"Yet," All Might said, putting his cup down. "On that day, you were certain I would die even though it was a vision from years into the future."

He had been so certain, so desperate All Might believed him instantly.

"One of my sidekicks really likes coffee," Nighteye said, seemingly out of the blue. "She always makes sure to pour herself a cup at least once a day. When I used my Quirk on her, I saw that she would drink coffee in the office as usual. That day, I threw away all the coffee, and I gave her so much work she wasn't able to take a break. Naturally, she wasn't able to drink any coffee in the office that day, but do you know what happened the next?"

All Might closed his eyes. He could see where this was going. "She drank coffee again."

"Exactly, even though I was able to stop her from drinking coffee in the office that day, she went ahead and did it the next day. Do you see? Your death is just like that. Even though it was going to happen years into the future, I saw it with perfect clarity. I wondered why for a long time, but I think I have the answer. Just like my side-kick drinking coffee because she loves it, your death relies on at least one near-constant variable."

"Which is?"

"You die saving someone."

All Might looked down. "That may have been true in the past, but…"

"Stop!" Nighteye snapped. "I already said I don't like it when you beat yourself down. What happened yesterday was a tragedy. I will not deny that. However, did you stop to think that it was the exact type of situation that could have killed you? There was no guarantee your form would hold."

Nighteye took a deep breath. What he was going to say next was harsh, yet he felt it needed to be said.

"It is entirely possible saving that boy could have killed you. The world would have lost All Might instead of a middle-schooler. In that light, this outcome may have been for the better."

This time it was All Might's fist that hit the table, and though his fist was bony, the table almost cracked under its strength. "How can say that?!"

"I say it because it is true!" Nighteye shouted back. "You are the one who wanted to be the Symbol of Peace above everything else! You don't get to be angry when I remind you what that means!"

For a moment, the two glared at each other. It was All Might who looked away first.

"Why are you telling me this?" All Might sounded tired, defeated. Nighteye hated to see him like that but did not know how to fix it. Putting smiles on people's faces had always been All Might's job, not his.

His job was to give information that could save people, and that was the only thing he could do right now.

"Because stepping down is not necessarily enough avoid your death. Picking a successor is a step in the right direction, but if your death is triggered by your need to save someone, there is no guarantee that will stop it. You had the desire to be a Hero before receiving One for All, after all. In the future, there may very well be a situation in which you throw yourself into the fray to save someone even after giving up One for All… just like that middle-schooler tried to do."

There was an easy way to know. Nighteye just needed to use his Quirk on All Might. That was it.

However, he couldn't.

He couldn't bear to see that sight again.

Nighteye took a deep breath to calm himself.

"When I first saw your death, there was nothing I could do. However, things have changed since then. I have worked with my Quirk in different ways. I have prevented a number of crimes from ever happening by working closely with the police. I have saved people who won't ever know their lives were in danger. How can I do any less for you?" Nighteye's voice broke. "You… you are not that old, you know? Even with your injuries, you can still have a long life. You could still start a family. You could still meet someone, marry, have kids. You could even have grandkids. You could take a hobby, fishing or something."

"Nighteye…"

"Damn it! Do you even understand how amazing you are? You are someone who deserves to be happy! That is why with the knowledge I have gained, with the resources I have at my disposal…"

Nighteye bowed his head so low his forehead hit the table. The coffee stained his clothes. He didn't care. There was only one thing that mattered now.

"Please, let me save you!"

xXx

 **AN: On many levels, this was hard to write. There are many things here I didn't consider when I started writing the story, yet as I thought about it, I realized they were necessary. Manga readers will notice I have reworked Nighteye's Quirk. I wanted something more flexible than a 100% accurate future since Nighteye is going to be a recurring character here.**

 **As an aside, Hero Association is not a term ever used in MHA, IIRC. It's just the name I am giving to the government office in charge of managing heroes.**

 **The Quirk Liberation Army and Destro have been mentioned in passing in the manga.**

 **The Quirk Liberation Party and the Transparency and Fairness Party are things I created for this fic while thinking about the type of political positions that may show up in a setting like MHA.**

 **QGJ, YDA, and OBK are news channels. I considered JJB but one likes JJB.**

 **Next time: Bakugou returns!**


	5. Chapter 4

**And we are back!**

* * *

 _The funeral of Midoriya Izuku took place over the weekend._

 _It was a small, private affair. Izuku's father was unable to attend. He worked overseas and was not able to secure a flight on time. Most of the people who attended were friends of the family. Few of Izuku's classmates showed up. The Bakugou family called the day before to apologize for not being able to go. Their son was still in the hospital._

 _Overall, it was a distressingly quiet affair, broken only by Midoriya Inko's sobs._

* * *

 **Odd Future 04**

* * *

Kashiwagi Miharu was an angel.

That was the prevalent opinion among the hospital staff. The young nurse was not only attractive but had an impossibly gentle disposition and was always diligent in her work. There was not a single person in the hospital who bore a grudge against or even disliked her. Even the roughest and angriest of patients became docile in front of her. She was just that sort of pure person.

Naturally, just like the fearful humans of olden days did with pure maidens, the hospital staff had sacrificed her by throwing her headfirst into the raging fire that was Bakugou Katsuki.

"Fuck!"

Miharu winced as Bakugou hit the mats covering the floor yet again. She moved to help him because that was what she did. It was her job. She was a Rehabilitation Nurse. It was her duty and her joy to help patients with long-term physical disabilities deal with their limitations and reach their full potential.

A single angry, _violent_ glare from Bakugou stopped her.

Miharu had read his medical history. She knew he was only fifteen years old while she was a trained professional. She had dealt with older patients. She had dealt with larger patients.

None had a glare like that.

Maybe it was because of his red eyes which enhanced what was already a bottomless well of anger and frustration. Maybe it was because of his voice which was far rougher than most high-schoolers. Or maybe, it was the sheer restrained violence that just radiated from every pore on Bakugou's body.

Whatever the case, one thing was clear.

Bakugou Katsuki did not feel like a high-schooler. He felt like a wild, dangerous beast, and Miharu's every instinct was telling her that if she made a wrong move, she would find his fangs aimed at her person.

Thus, Miharu stayed in place as Bakugou managed to twist himself to a sitting position before reaching for the parallel bars. He was practicing how to walk. He had been doing so for the past half an hour. She should be helping him, but he absolutely refused to accept any aid. She feared he would hurt himself if she tried to force things.

Bakugou's prostheses were still not ready, so he was stuck using crutches for the time being. As he was now, he should not be able to stand up. He should not even be in rehabilitation just yet.

Miharu knew this to be true because she had watched several patients go through rehabilitation. Bakugou's case was particularly unfortunate. Bakugou was not just missing one limb. He was missing two. Worse still, they were both on the same side of the body, the left one. The feeling of emptiness, the loss of sensation, the dramatic shift to his sense of balance. Maybe if his missing arm and leg were on different sides of his body, he could manage to start walking in a relatively short amount of time. As things were, even keeping hold of his crutches should be a challenge.

Bakugou Katsuki should have realized this already. There had to be a limit to a person's stubborn pride. When faced with his inability to move, he should have seen the absolute necessity of letting her do her job.

Bakugou hadn't so he didn't, or if he had, he had simply dismissed the fact as inconvenient.

With his one good arm, Bakugou pushed his body, so his back was against one of the parallel bars while he reached for his fallen crutch. Slowly pushing his back against one of the bars, he managed to get back to his feet. It was an impressive feat for someone who by all means shouldn't even be in rehabilitation just yet. The boy had insisted, however, and no one had been able to stand against his sheer ferocity.

One of the nurses at the hospital was a big fan of documentaries. In his enthusiasm, he would send other members of the staff videos of particularly violent bits of wildlife. Miharu did not particularly enjoy such things, but sometimes she ended up clicking on the videos out of curiosity only to inevitably regret it after she was done watching. Nature was way too violent for her tastes.

However, as she saw Bakugou Katsuki literally growl like an animal, she couldn't help but be reminded of one of those videos.

It had been a short video, not even four minutes long. In it, a lion had walked up to a pack of hyenas feasting on a dead gazelle. One would think a lone lion would keep its distance from such a large group of carnivores, but that had not happened. The lion had merely strutted up to the pack of hyenas with complete confidence, never once looking worried.

The lion walked right up to the matriarch and killed her.

One bite. A single instant. It sank its teeth in the hyena's throat and didn't let go. The other hyenas had fled after that, leaving the dead gazelle for the lion. It had really been that simple.

Katsuki Bakugo reminded Miharu of that lion.

Not because he was violent. Not because she feared he would literally bite her. Rather, because they both moved with the same certainty. The complete confidence that the world would bow before them. Bakugou was treating his condition exactly like that. He was treating it as a foe that was already dead and just didn't know it yet. He would sink his teeth into it and wouldn't let go until it gave up. It was not a level of pride Miharu had ever had to deal with. It was maddening, yet it could be helpful _if only he would let her help him!_

Bakugou grunted. A miscalculation caused his crutch to slip from his hand. Were it not for his quick reflexes, he would have fallen. As it was, he barely managed to grab one of the bars in time. Even so, he was still in a precarious position.

"Hold on!" Miharu said as she made her way to him.

"Don't!" Bakugou snapped. His one arm trembled as he tried to regain his balance, tried to keep himself uptight. His knuckles were white from the effort. His hands were too sweaty. It was only a matter of time until he fell. "I don't need your damn help!"

Of all the arrogant, idiotic, inconceivable things!

"Why!" Miharu's patience finally snapped. "Why won't you let me help you? This is what I am trained for! People don't just magically get better! You can't just bash your head against the problem until it breaks. It doesn't work like that!"

Bakugou, for once, looked at her with something other than a glare. Unfortunately, his stare was nothing if not stubborn. "Watch me."

The effect was ruined by him slipping immediately after. However, Miharu was ready for it this time. She stepped in and managed to catch him in time, helping him steady himself.

"If I hadn't been here just now, you would have fallen. Again," she said, more than a little frustrated. "You could have hit your head against the bars. You could have hurt yourself, and then how would your parents feel?"

Miharu felt Bakugou's body tense at the mention of his parents.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn about this?"

Bakugou mumbled something. It was too faint for her to hear. "What was that?" She asked.

"I said because I woke up in a fucking diaper!" Bakugou yelled. Even though they were alone in the room, Miharu did not doubt that Bakugou's voice had reached all the way to the hall and then some. "I woke up wearing a stupid diaper because they didn't know how fucking long I was going to be unconscious. Some retard thought of putting an adult diaper on me just in fucking case. Do you have any fucking idea how hard it is to take off a damn diaper with one arm in the middle of the night!"

She didn't. Even if she had, Miharu would have stayed silent.

"Then I ring the fucking bell because I really need to use the damn bathroom. The fucktards go and give me a fucking bedpan. All happy and so damn proud of their double-digit IQs. I politely tell them to go fuck themselves. I don't need a fucking bedpan. I need to use the damn bathroom! They say some stupid ass shit. I tell them to shove it up their assholes and start freaking hopping my way to the bathroom to fucking shit in peace!"

Bakugou's breathing grew heavier as he spoke. His face was flushed, and Miharu was certain it was not only due to anger.

"Do you have any idea how it feels to nearly fall on your own shit? 'cause that's what fucking happened to me. I was one wrong fucking move away from literally falling into the fucking toilet the entire fucking time. Then once that mess was over and done with I had to make my way back to bed. I fell on my fucking face on the way back, and the nurses had to carry me to bed. Then the fucking morning comes, and they come to my room telling me I need a fucking sponge bath. Like I couldn't stand on my own fucking leg and take a shower. And you know what? I fucking let them! I fucking let them give me a sponge bath because I knew I would fall on my ass if I tried to bathe on my own. 'cause I fucking knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't do something as simple as taking a goddamn bath! Then today, I couldn't even operate a fucking wheelchair on my own 'cause I only have one damn arm, so someone had to push me all the way here. I needed help to take a fucking _elevator_ and walk a couple of yards! Like I was… Like I was some sort of fucking…"

He trailed off, his gaze firmly locked on the ground causing his hair to fall over his eyes as he struggled with the word he could not possibly bring himself to say. He knew it, though. Miharu knew it too.

Like an invalid.

Miharu had seen this many times. It was not just about the accident or the missing limb. It was also about all the consequences that came with it. Things people took for granted before were suddenly out of their reach. Taking a walk around the park. Putting on clothes. Going to the bathroom. Taking a shower. Cooking. All those simple, ordinary things suddenly became monumental tasks. In that situation, it was completely natural to become frustrated.

When faced with one's own inability so plainly, what else could one do but feel helpless and useless?

"It will be okay," Miharu said. She made her words firm as if she was stating a fact. Normally, she would have tried to be soothing. Less than an hour in Bakugou Katsuki's presence told her any attempts to be comforting would be perceived as pitying him. "What you are going through right now is normal. It is okay for you to feel this way."

Bakugou did not say anything. However, he also didn't try to shake off her grip. Miharu hoped that meant he was listening instead of this being the calm before the storm.

"I won't lie to you. You will never quite be like you were before." This was something she usually didn't say during the first session. However, once again, she felt this was the best approach to take with Bakugou. "However, I guarantee you will be able to do almost everything you could do before. It will be different, but different does not mean worse. That is why I am here. It is my job to help you return to your daily life with as little inconveniences as possible. Okay?"

Bakugou did something that may have been a nod. Miharu kept going.

"That will take time, though. It takes time for everyone. This is not happening in one day. It is not happening in two. You cannot force this. Even once you are out of the hospital and have your prosthetics, you will still need therapy. The more you fight me, the more time you'll spend here, unable to do what you want to do. Do you understand that?"

Bakugou stayed silent for a long while. Finally, his red eyes looked straight at her.

"No one puts a diaper on me again."

"I promise," she replied instantly.

"No more offering me bedpans."

"I will talk to the nurses on your floor."

"And I want to be able to take a damn bath on my own. No sponge baths."

Here she paused. "I will see what I can do. Maybe I can have a medical bathtub moved to your room. You would still need help to get in or out, but you'd be able to clean yourself on your own. Would that be preferable?"

Bakugou's brow furrowed as he considered the option. It was clear he didn't find it particularly appealing, but ultimately, it was better than the alternative. "Okay. That will work."

The teen took a deep breath. Miharu half-expected steam to come out of his mouth. It didn't. Instead, she felt some of the tension leave his body.

"Alright," he told her. "I'll give you a shot."

It was a start.

* * *

 **AN: Originally, this was supposed to be a much longer chapter. I wanted to go through Bakugou's rehabilitation all in one go so we could finally get to UA. However, after many deleted drafts, it became clear to me that this scene needed to be its own thing.**


End file.
